Chapter 482: Battle Of The Manor (Final)
Laz was hurt, but not enough to endanger his life. With Jill’s help, he was back on his feet in no time. Unlike the last time they entered, he didn’t lead the way. This time, things were going to be all about Maia, Sylvia and Ivana.
Laz was just a side character.
As such, he was able to observe what was going on.
The entrance way hadn’t been repaired, instead some boards of wood and lengths of fabric had been thrown up in an effort to keep the elements out.
As Laz approached, the temporary doors had already been destroyed and battles were breaking out all over the place. The difference this time was that the forces under Maia’s command were far more brutal and confident, not hesitating to cut down their former brothers and sisters. Even more astounding, from Laz’s position, was the small, vine like roots that were traveling the length of the floor or even coming up from underneath it. Whenever the vines would hit an enemy, it would then expand quickly, piercing the skin of the unfortunate victim before traveling up and down the length of their bodies, either freezing them in place for the attacker to take their head, or just flat out sucking the person dry, leaving nothing but a wither corpse in it’s wake.
Seeing this, the defenders of the manor became more and more frightened as the troops under Maia became more emboldened.
This battle had already been decided at this point.
Up above the landing, a door opened and out walked the crazy old patriarch along with the two grand elders who Laz had encountered before.
"OH. INTERESTING. I didn’t think any one of you were smart enough to unravel the array and yet, here you are? Perhaps mother did it herself? Hmm? Feeling weak?" The crazy old man asked.
Just then, Laz noticed something. The old man’s eyes seemed to be darting around as though expecting an answer from someone, but his eyes stopped way to long on one person in particular before continuing it’s travels.
"You saw that as well?" Laz asked Jill and she nodded her head.
Laz was aware that among her skills, her perception was incredible. It was also helpful that she was standing back and not fighting since this allowed her to observe from a better position to those who were already in the midst of bloodlust.
"Go see which group of people are around that spot," Laz said, turning away from her and stepping in front. While this really didn’t do anything to hide her, it did take the attention away from her if anyone was actually looking.
"Slight of hand? Real magic is just about manipulation, isn’t it?" Laz said to himself mostly, but still heard a chuckled out of Jill before she drifted away.
"Oh. Something else too. I meant to return these to you the next time I saw you after all," the old man said, throwing something from the second floor to the first and landing besides Maia’s feet.
She didn’t look down, having already caught sight of what they were while still in mid-air.
Of course the others with her weren’t so skilled and stared at the two, seemingly moss colored stones that had just been thrown down.
Except they were stones and the thing covering them wasn’t moss. Instead, it was the blood soaked heads of two of the six council members who had been sent to relieve Laz.
Seeing this, Laz frowned, knowing that they had given up their lives to give their people a way to survive.
The only reassuring thing about it was that the old woman’s head wasn’t one of the two. Instead, it was two of the council members Laz didn’t know. Despite this, Laz gave a bow in their direction as a sign of respect.
"Do you think this will anger me? Do you think I would be afraid of a few heads? I shall lead their souls to rebirth so what is it that you hope to achieve by doing this?" Maia asked, her voice still firm and steady.
"AH! SO SERIOUS. And yet, I’m sure we all know better. Perhaps you can put on an angry face every now and then, but you are still a far cry from the goddess who lead us into battle all those years ago. You’re still too soft and weak. Maybe you are putting on a brave front right now, but I know you are feeling quite horrible at this moment? Hmm? So am I right?" He laughed and started dancing in place, as though he were celebrating figuring out Maia.
"I see. You really have fallen so far that you’ve gone senile. Old man, just accept your fate. You and your family have betrayed us... betrayed me. Do you think the penalty for betrayal is such an easy experience?"
While Maia had been talking, her tiny vines were making their way up the stairs, right to the position where the old and grand elders were standing. What’s more, out of sight of anyone else, her large roots which had been hidden by the fog were climbing the building, making their way to a point where they could strike them down after breaking through the roof.
Of course things wouldn’t be that easy.
Jill had just returned and whispered quickly, causing Laz’s indifference to fade as he made his way forward. People had been shifting around, many of them getting closer to Maia in case they needed to defend her. Afterall, none of them wanted to see their goddess hurt again.
The problem was one of the groups drifting close were the same family that the old patriarch had taken a signal from earlier. And in the confusion with the heads that followed, they had ended up right behind Maia.
Laz didn’t stop and think, instead just moved, not caring who he plowed through. By the time others noticed that people had been sent flying, Laz was standing next to the scholarly array master from back at the gate. In the man’s hands was a sword coating with a noxious green and black substance and pointed right at Maia’s back.
Laz didn’t even hesitate, stepping back and letting the energy flow through him, first his legs, then center and eventually right out of his fist which he had just so happened to have slammed it into the scholar’s stomach right at this moment.
The force of the energy blast mixed with Laz’s natural strength was astounding. The thin scholar didn’t even have time to yell as his body was blasted apart, his foundation realm body and energy not even a match for Jill, much less for someone like Laz.
As the man’s bloody remains shot out, coating the members of his family were were close enough due to providing him cover, the poisoned sword dropped to the ground with a loud,
"Clank."
After that, everyone was silent, including the patriarch. At least, he was until his laughter could no longer be contained and burst outward.
Just as it looked like he was going to fall down from laughing, he sobered up and with a serious look on his face, said,
"And this is why I didn’t want to trust those bastards. They couldn’t even do a simple job like assassination. I mean, she’s near death’s door already and couldn’t defend herself, but even then they couldn’t land the shot. I’ve said before your people are too stupid for their own good," he said with condemnation and a sigh.
From the door behind him, the grand elder of that family and former council member walked forward with an apologetic look on his face.
"I do apologize sir. Had I known this would happened, I would have done it myself," the old elder said, a hint of nervousness in his voice.
"Had you suddenly shown up, she would have seen through it now, wouldn’t she? Well, I guess it doesn’t matter. Time to leave before we get into a really tight spot. Let’s go," The old patriarch said, turning to the door and walking for it.
"But sir... My family?" The old elder said, the nervousness in his voice growing louder and more noticeable.
"Save them if you want or think you are able. I don’t need useless people by my side. Besides, you can always have some more children. Just grab a few of the females from your house and problem solved. Now either come with us or stay," And with that last comment, the patriarch entered the door, followed by the two grand elders of his family.
As for the former councilmen, he hesitated but a moment before following behind them, letting the door close with a thump.
Laz jumped from where he was behind Maia while Sylvia ordered her men to arrest the members of the betraying family.
Opening up the door, Laz was about to charge forward when he noticed that the dark room beyond was both empty and little more than a broom closet.
"What the fuck?" Laz said, closing and opening the door again just to make sure.
"It’s useless boy. They’ve already left. This was all planned in advance. So even if you were to find where they shifted to, they will have already moved somewhere else," Maia said, her voice a bit heavier than Laz would have expected.
"So what do we do now? Are they still inside the manor?" Laz asked, trying to use his spiritual sense to look around, only to find it blocked.
"Everyone outside!" Maia ordered, leading the way.
Once they got out there, Maia looked up at the giant manor before closing her eyes. When she opened them again, a gush of blue and green light shown out, as the giant roots that had made their way up to the top of the manor suddenly jumped into the air before coming crashing down.
By the time she was done, there was nothing but rubble and debris.
"Search everywhere. Make sure no stone is left unturned. If there is even a hit of them, I want them found," Sylvia ordered, making herself known for the first time since Maia had said nothing after demolishing the place.
Ivana walked over to Maia and set a hand on her shoulder, a gentle gesture to show support. She could feel in her blood and bones thanks to being the closest one to her mentally, that Maia was hurting right now.
In the silence of the fog, the only sounds to ring out was the grunts of men and women as the building rubble was slowly cleared.
